A Series of Soulmate Moments
by Ashli28
Summary: ONESHOTS of all the soulmate couples reflecting on moments in their relationship, not in order, no names used. you can try and guess if you want. Just romance at first, maybe some tragedy later. Rating may go up.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I'm not L.J.Smith and I don't own any of her characters or ideas etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, the only things I own are things you don't recognize. **

**Author's note: I couldn't be bothered to write another chapter of Finding Daybreak or Without You right now (although I'll write more tonight) so I've started something new. With this, I'm going to write about each of the soulmate couples. One on each chapter, but I'm not using any names, and they're not going to be in order, some of this will be mushy and some of it might be a little tragedy – might. Haven't figured it out yet.**

**THERE ARE CLUES IN ALL OF THESE ABOUT WHO THEY ARE, ONCE THEY'RE ALL GUESSED, I'LL EXPLAIN THEM LOL.**

Number 1/9. This one might seem obvious, but it isn't quite so :D still, it is pretty obvious.

Everything was different now that he had her, now that he could see the world for what it really was. As though he had been confined to such a small space for so long, and now he was really getting out into the real world once again. Everything he touched, everything he saw – no matter how many times he'd done so in the past – all had new meaning to him now. He wasn't living his sad life with no hope left for the future, overtaken by greed, he was experiencing new things. With her.

He wondered if she felt the joy that he did. Of course, she hadn't been waiting such as long a time as he had, for someone to love her. She'd had that small comfort always, he hadn't. he had doubted they could ever be, and now that they were sitting in one another's arms, it was magical, almost too much so. He half imagined that he would awake in his room, soaked in sweat, realising it was all a sweet dream. The kind he'd had for a long time, so long…since…

"Don't think that," she said now, raking a hand through his hair – not gently, more as though she too wanted to know he was real – he stared at her. How could she do that? Always know what he was thinking, even when he wasn't projecting and they weren't sharing blood? He held her closer and the answer cackled between them in sparks.

_Soulmates._

It was a jolt to him every time he thought it. Leaning down, he kissed her, he only meant it to be a light fleeting kiss, he knew she still wasn't feeling well, but she grabbed him fiercely at the back of the neck and pulled his face down to meet hers, again and again.

He loved the way they fitted together perfectly, how strange it was that he'd never noticed it before, he loved the contrast between them, but most of all he just loved her: beautiful her, ferocious, strong, kind. She'd grown up.

Over by the house, a blonde girl hopped down the stairs to meet them, feeling bad about interrupting but doing so anything, "we're having a meeting, you too, come inside?" they kept kissing, "coming? Can either of you even _hear _me?"

_Can you hear her? _He asked his soulmate.

She shook her head softly, causing him to miss her mouth and kiss her chin. That was okay, anything was okay, as long as she was in her arms, _hear who? _She asked. The girl seemed to give up and go back to the house.

As far as both of them were concerned, tanks could burst through the mansion and they'd still be kissing. The apocalypse could come and go, the world be destroyed, and they'd still be sitting there, wrapped in each other's embrace. It didn't matter, they were not only soulmates, they were in love; he'd loved her forever, and finally, she'd realised it too – and that was worth more than anything. No one could break their bond, not after everything they'd had to go through to be together, and alive...

At the steps, the arm of a blonde haired guy stopped the girl, she looked over at him and smiled gently, "are they coming?" he asked.

"I think they have better things to do," she answered, touching his arm and dragging him back to the mansion. Over her shoulder, she looked at the couple. They made no signs of realising anyone yet existed. She made a mental note not to let anyone else come after the two.

**Enchantednight84: I'm glad you like it lol, but nope, it's not them :D you got 2 right though, but I'm putting that on the other pages.**

**Sannie: Nope again, it's not them and I'm really glad you're enjoying the stories – but is anyone gonna let me killing Ash go! Lol. Thanks for the review :P **


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, 2nd one…hmmm…(thinks) I know these aren't very good, but my brain died a terrible death last night. It decided to boil itself (awww) so, y'know, this is all I can think of, also, I don't do mush well.**

**I think this one is even more obvious than the last – ah, well.**

**Soulmate couple 2/9.**

She rested her head on his shoulder and they swayed to the music. When she had been given this mission and told to take her soulmate with her, she had been weary, the last time she had done something like this, it hadn't turned out to well, but now she was enjoying herself profusely.

It was only a spying mission, she was supposed to find a witch with red hair like flame and piercing grey eyes – name was Scorn, _apparently – _and send out her transmission to one of the others, who would go in and get him. She was there, because she was one of the few who could get into a place like this without too many questions.

Now, leaning against her soulmate, feeling his warm arms go up and down her back as they swayed, she wasn't even watching for the witch. She couldn't care less if she failed the mission and was never sent on one again.

_Remember to buy some ballads so that we can dance like this at home, _she thought with a grin, imagining how his family would react to come in to see them dancing in their living room, slowly, to music. She didn't have a problem with _her _family, mostly because she didn't _have _a family. His would be amazed that their darling boy and his soulmate were doing something so…_strange… _and she laughed. Well, soulmate couples were full of surprises.

"Is that him?" her soulmate whispered, darting to the side with his eyes, and she craned her neck to see, while he took that opportunity to kiss her soft throat, as though her action wasn't conspicuous, she looked in the direction he had looked to, but she didn't see _anyone _with red hair there, never mind 'Scorn'.

"You cheat," she laughed, kissing him quickly, but now that her attention had been lifted from how good he looked, she turned softly, so that she was facing a different wall to the one she'd been looking at. No witches there, she could tell from the way those people carried themselves. There were a couple of redheaded men there, but all of them had an easy grace, a gentle prowl, a directness that no witch had. They were practically human in their movements. She turned again.

"I think if the witch was here," he said philosophically, "we'd know. After all, wouldn't he be the _only _witch here? It would be obvious, in this sort of gathering." He had become so technical since meeting her, he'd took in a lot of information fast, tried to be as much like he as possible, even though in most ways they were complete opposites. It didn't stop him trying, and he exerted his knowledge whenever possible. He had always been smarter than her, she thought, but he tended to disagree. They could never agree on anything, it was one of the things which added a little spice to the relationship.

"And what makes you the expert for spotting witches?" she asked gently, raising her arms from his neck to his hair, running her fingers through it all the way to his shoulder caressingly, her platinum ring glittered in the lighting, and she looked at it with contentment, then she sighed.

"I'm not, but I think practically everyone else here is," he said lightly, and she laughed. People were staring at them, but that wasn't unusual, she was just surprised that they could even call attention while dancing like the normal people there.

He noticed too, and he looked around uncomfortably, "why is it, when we're together, I always feel like I have a siren on my head?" He asked carefully.

"Because you're just too damn good looking, and everyone's jealous of me," she answered simply, "because I have got the single most wonderful soulmate in the world."

He smiled and opened his mouth as though to counter that, but she missed the dazzling whiteness that could light up a room in a single grin, as she spotted someone who walked almost clumsy, with hair so red it could have been stolen from a traffic light. She started towards him, then remembered her communicator, "I've got him, but I don't think I'll need any backup!"

Her soulmate one step behind her, she started through the crowds. If there was one thing the soulmate couple were able to do, it was fight, and they always preferred to do it together – against a common enemy.


	3. Chapter 3

**Soulmate couple 3/9.**

**Okay, this is THE most obvious one I'll do. Please bare with me, even though I might as well just put the names in its that guessable. Heh. It's not very good either, but it's what came to me when I was making myself a microwavable curry (my talents, surprisingly, extend to microwavable curries. I've only done what he did…oh…once?)**

'**don't try to cook like this at home, daggers destroy fingers and no film destroys microwaves – consider yourself forewarned'**

**lol, yep, you were right Enchantednight89**

**The Incident with the Microwave.**

He carefully read the instructions on the box, **Pierce film with knife before putting in microwave** okay, he could do that: that was easy enough. Nice, simple instructions that any old idiot could follow. Good. Great. Fantastic. He removed the dagger from a clip on his belt and started pelting it off the film on the curry. BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Holy…" his best friend in the mansion, who was in the kitchen at the time, reached out her hand and grabbed the dagger, "it said, PIERCE the film, PIERCE it, not KILL IT! Like this," his friend got out a small, serviceable kitchen knife and pierced it softly. Now, the attacker of the microwavable meal looked downward in an expression of defeat, he took the offered knife and made smaller, slower motions. This seemed to meet his friend's approval, because she left.

Or maybe she just didn't want to get caught in the crossfire between the attacker and the meal.

When he'd been ordered by his soulmate that _he _must cook for once, instead of the chefs that were hired for the mansion, and that it was going to be an intimate, romantic meal for two, he had panicked. He'd tried to back out of it, but her words were "if the cooks don't cook for us, I do, I've never seen you cook. But you're going to."

"Maybe," he had retorted, "I don't cook because I'm a _vampire!" _she had merely shook her head and told him that if he wanted to get out of it, he was going to have to think of a better excuse than that.

So he had ran straight to his best friend in the mansion, the one he identified with best, the one he talked to the most, over the week he had tried making everything from chicken to toasted sandwiches, all of which burnt. As a last, desperate attempt, she had gone out and bought him two microwave meals, she said that wasn't exactly what his soulmate meant, but it was going to have to do.

"I can do this," he muttered to himself, his hands shaking with the pressure with which he held the knife. Then he realised, instead of piercing it, why didn't he just take the whole of the film off? That would surely be easier.

Feeling good about this cooking lark now, he located the microwave, it took him several minutes because it had been a whole two days since his friend had explained what one was, but now that he had found it, he opened the door to the microwave, pushed the curry in, and pressed the start button. After nine minutes, he took the curry out.

It was stone cold.

_To heat the curry in the microwave, you have to actually press in the amount of time you want, _the voice called from the other room,_ it's called a timer._

"Now she tells me," he grumbled, pressing in what he hoped was nine minutes into the microwave. His soulmate would be coming to the kitchen soon so they could have their romantic meal – no one else allowed – so he grabbed the other curry and pushed that into the microwave too. It was a tight squeeze, but it fit eventually. Then he went to go and put on a clean shirt for dinner.

When he got back downstairs, he was relieved to see his soulmate was not yet in the kitchen, he opened the door, stepped to the microwave, put one hand on the handle, pulled just a touch.

The whole thing exploded on him!

"Hey, can I come in?" his soulmate's voice was at the door. He looked down at himself, his white shirt and black jeans were _covered _in curry. He was a mess. Running to the door, he opened it just a touch, "err…hi? Just a minute, and I should have…" _done absolutely nothing._

His soulmate pushed aside the door, stared at the room in shock, "my lord. You could have just told me you couldn't cook."

He wished he had, _that would have worked? _He wondered to himself, then he remembered that he was supposed to be salvaging what little was left of his dignity, "I can cook! I just had a technical problem…just a little set back…"

An eyebrow rose, "with the microwave?"

"Yes," he nodded stubbornly and she laughed.

"I've been watching you trying to learn how to cook all week, silly," a light punch on his arm followed, then she backed out of the door and leant to pick something from the floor. When she straightened, it was a pizza box, "good job I did the liberty of doing _your _work again. Lets go eat it in our room, the kitchen's a mess."

He felt guilty, "the cleaners are going to have a huge job."

"And I'd hate to see the bill," she nodded.

"Lets go before they realise it was us!" and they both laughed, running upstairs to their room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sannie – sorry lol, but nope. It wasn't them.  it was who I thought people would guess though lol**

**4/9**

She loved him, but she didn't understand him. Outside, when they were fighting, why did he feel the need to prove he was stronger, faster, better? _Become a vampire _it was the argument that echoed through her brain constantly, it was the only thing imperfect in their relationship: he was a vampire, she wasn't.

She didn't want to die of old age while he was still young, but neither did she want to live through the centuries, maybe to even face the _next _apocalypse, as a blood-sucking leech.

"is that how you see me?" he had asked one night, softly, as though he didn't really want the answer.

_Yes, that's exactly how I see you, _she had thought, and this came with a new flood of tears. She couldn't forget what he'd done, just couldn't. she cursed herself for crying, but everyone cries sometimes, even him – who pretended to be strong. He cried when he hurt her with his words, and he cried when she hurt him with hers.

They were too alike, but oh so different too.

"If you want me to leave…" he said forlornly, staring at the patterns on the carpet. His eyes were full of unshed tears, and she could almost imagine what he was thinking – _not again – _in some ways, she wanted him to leave, wanted to watch him pack all his clothes up and leave the daybreak mansion as he'd done so many times before, but she always demanded he came back, she was too weak.

Too weak to not fall in love.

She couldn't help being human, and he couldn't help being a vampire. Sometimes, he held her late at night and whispered that if there was some magic potion to make him…but no, there was no such thing, and that hurt.

The only way it could be solved was for her to become a vampire, like him: strong and immortal, practically invincible.

But she _couldn't _live like that.

"I don't want you to leave," and she clung to him like a safety blanket, kissing all the parts of his mind which were still too dark, but he saw her own mind, and he felt her emotions.

"never?" he asked, he didn't use the telepathy, even though it felt…closer…than speaking humanly.

She shook her head, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but I can't…even for an eternity with you, I just can't live that way."

He nodded, and he kissed her, but some of the tenderness had gone out of the embrace, it wasn't fierce, or loving, or lustful, or gentle, it was desperate. They both knew that anything could sever their relationship, that maybe fate had matched the wrong people in _this _soulmate pair. Neither could understand the other, and neither was capable of compromise. They were both too stubborn.

_We're a lot alike, _he said to her in her mind.

_Except for the species, _she agreed.

But it was the species that mattered the most. If they liked different movies or had different interests, it wouldn't have mattered, but being in a vampire-human pair made things different, each came with its own cost. She was too humane, and he was too dark.

They'd live or die together, but what if they ended up killing one another?


	5. Chapter 5

I'm making a few assumptions with this one, lol, but I have to. I've left a lot of clues in this one Hehe. I couldn't help myself.

5/9

Life was good at last. He had someone to make up for the loss of…no, he didn't think about that anymore, _couldn't _think about that anymore. It didn't matter, had faded into a simple memory; he would always carry that loss with him, but it would be subtly, in happiness at the memories, not in sadness at the end.

He had her. Her whom was full of life and love, whom would come alive at the sight of anything alive, who bathed in nature and the happiness she herself shared. She was gorgeous to his eyes, to most eyes actually, but it was only them who mattered.

She promised she would never leave him, and he believed her.

Now, they stood side by side, hand in hand, strolling together through the park, it gave the same thrill as a kiss. They were both happy with the small pleasures in life that they had managed to create this chance in which they could be together – even if it meant she had to leave everything behind.

He paused suddenly, surprising her, no words were needed for communication, just a simple glance into one another's eyes, holding hands and feeling the connection sizzle between them, they understood one another, maybe even more than any two people ever should. And now, she questioned him with her eyes, gentle, probing, and he smiled, leading her down the park to a lake. It was only a few foot in diameter and normally there would be children playing, hopping from stones that seemed to grow from the water, but he had found a spot, almost cloaked entirely in trees, where there were no kids to break through the important question he had to ask.

It was beautiful and calming like her. He felt his palms go sweaty.

"It's gorgeous," she said, breaking the comfortable silence, sitting down heavily on the floor, not bothered about the white trousers she wore. They were dirty from a game of basketball which had seemed to result in them ending up collapsing on the floor two thirds of the time. It was for the best, he had height and ability on her, and there would have been almost no competition if she weren't so irresistible that he kept missing. People kept giving them _looks _at the dirt-stained clothes, but neither cared. Each only cared about what the other thought of them. Life was too short for other people's opinions.

"Just like you," he agreed, feeling corny but not really caring, he couldn't keep the grin from his face. He kneeled beside her, trying to wonder how he could get her to stand up without being too conspicuous, she turned her face up to him and smiled.

"Well, I think you're pretty gorgeous too," she shuffled back a little and he put his arms around her.

A year had passed, and he was thankful for every moment, knowing that they easily couldn't have had them. He held her close, breathing through her hair, and smiled, _how does she always smell so good? Even after a game of basketball…_

He realised that he was shaking, and for the first time knew the effects of what he was going to do. If she said no, well, that would destroy him, he didn't know whether he'd be able to cope, but he had to _try _or who knew what could happen?

"Will you marry me?" the words came out in a rush and he gulped, he hadn't meant for it to come out like that. Now, he was glad it had, she looked up, and she was smiling. He took the diamond ring out of his pocket and she outstretched her hand, kissing him softly on the lips, when she stepped back, she was laughing.

"I've been waiting all day for you to ask," she giggled, "you were acting so strange, I wasn't sure you were going to go through it."

He stared, boy he stared, and she stood up, pulling him with her, then she kissed him properly, not lightly, but full of love and passion, "you let too much out of the soulmate connection," she smiled. And he remembered what he was thinking earlier, 'they understood each other, maybe more than two people should,' _no, _he argued with himself, _this is how it's meant to be._

Even if he hadn't surprised her, the result had made him the happiest he'd been in a long time. They stayed in the park until it was night.


	6. Chapter 6

I haven't updated for a while, but if you want me to update, you gotta review! If you don't want me to update…oh well…here we are! School is mainly why I couldn't update, but hey, I need a break.

**Laura: at the end, I'll write a separate chapter that's basically just telling you who they all are lol, in the meantime: it's a surprise :D**

The room was a gloomy dark, so embraced by the shadows that she could barely see one foot in front of her face. That was okay; she wanted it that way. How could she bare to see the happy brightness of the sun when cheerful was the last thing she felt? When she'd rather lose herself in the darkness, never to return to the land of the living, than face a delusional happiness?

He was gone, had left her in the dead of night, and there was nothing she could do about it. No words would bring him back into her arms; let her wrap her love around him once more. Nothing she could do would make him remember the good times they had had. Only the bad remained…

They had thought they could work it out, that maybe everything could be perfect and they could live happily ever after in their own little world. It wasn't to be. Her soulmate had thought he could love her, but he had never really known her, and she changed from the girl he thought he loved, she thought about _him ­­­– _the one who could have destroyed _everything _– so often that he couldn't cope, and he had left.

"Why?" she had screamed at him in a rare fit of anger, she wasn't used to this, talking almost as a predator, but she needed to know – needed to know so bad. He hadn't had an answer, but she felt as though he was trying to hold back something painful, she _felt _this through the soulmate link.

_I don't love you anymore, _was the worst she could think of.

Too bad that it was probably true.

She thought of ending it all in one painful swipe of the knife, one cut…feeling the blood run out…what stopped her was the knowledge that if she did, he would hurt. He would always love her, whether he wanted to or not. She had thought it before, long before, when life was bad. Would it still have affected him in the same way then, even in the fact that he didn't know her? Maybe her decision not to destroy herself was the worst she had ever made…

Could she live the rest of her life out with such pain? The swelling in her heart that meant that he was not there with her? That she would never again be in his arms, feel his soft lips against hers…

She gave up to the feeling of helplessness and fell into a deep sleep.

**Three Weeks Before.**

They were in their room, returning after a busy meeting down in the common room of the mansion. She wasn't sure why she was so mad, but all of a sudden she had the furious urge to scream…yell…shout… the white on the walls and supposedly tranquil blue of the floor did nothing to calm her. she was furious.

Why? She had no idea.

"You don't know how it feels!" she screamed at him, flinging herself on the bed in a daze, "you don't understand! I'd give anything to be normal again, no matter what I said before. I'd do _anything!"_ she turned onto her stomach and punched the pillow so that she wouldn't punch him.

"I'm sorry," he muttered softly, sitting down, "but, you know…"

"Don't talk to me!" she yelled, venom in her voice, "don't! I don't want to hear it!"

he shook his head sadly, "I don't know you anymore."

"You never did," she spat out at him fiercely.

He stood up and left the room.

**Two Weeks Before.**

There was a meeting, not for anything special. The night world wasn't doing anything that other Daybreakers couldn't deal with. The biggest problem was just that they hadn't had time to get together and talk for such a long time, despite living in the same house. They had decided to get together and chat.

Unfortunately, for this particular soulmate couple, that hadn't turned out as easy as it sounded. They were at each other's throat's at the simplest comment.

"Hey, hey, calm down you two!" the gentle witch called above the shouts, "we're sorry if we upset you!"

"Don't worry about it," he shook his head disdainfully, glaring at his soulmate, "she's been like this for weeks, she doesn't know what she's saying anymore."

"_don't you dare _talk about me as if I'm not here!" she glared, "_don't you dare! _If you didn't go on about how much easier life would have been if you never knew…"

"I _did not _say that!" he yelled.

"You imply it," she hissed back.

"No. That's what _you _imply," he answered in a voice ringed by sadness.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

She awoke with a start, but the last two weeks they'd been _happy. _they'd acted as they'd used to, like a couple in love. they had been as they were supposed to be.

What made him walk out?

Out the corner of her eye she saw a shadow walking through the darkness of the room. Him. His frame solid, his eyes cold as ice.

She felt like shouting out, to apologize, to beg, anything to make him come back.

But this was a problem they could never work out.

She sank into the silk of the duvet.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry that I haven't updated for quite a while, been busy with other commitments, but now I shall update it. :D

It's not very good but meh. Wasn't sure what to write for this one.

**Little-miss-Hyper - I'm glad you like the stories :P **

**Sam - lol thanks! and I can say that you got one of your guesses right lol :P I'll leave you to guess which one...**

**sheikgoddess**** – Gah! Okays…I'm updating this if you promise not to hit me. Deal?**

He watched her delicate form, crying, and wondered what on Earth he was meant to do to stop the pain she was feeling. When she cried, he couldn't help but feel a certain wetness in his eye either, after all - they may as well have been two halves of the same person. He felt what she felt, and vice versa.

"Are you telling me it's over?" she sobbed through her tears, and every word ripped his heart apart to the point where he too was crying, "After everything! After all this...waiting...It's over?"

"NO!" He didn't mean to yell the word, but it shook the walls of the mansion, feet pattered up the staircases of the mansion, until they realised the raised voices came from one of the soulmate couples and barrelled back down them. No one wanted to be caught in the crossfire of an angry soulmate couple, with all the excitement in the mansion the last few weeks it was positively dangerous. Some of them were high and giddy, some not talking to one another, and the kitchen had still to be repaired. All they needed was another misunderstanding.

"THEN WHAT!" His soulmate didn't care about the well-being of their social life inside of the mansion, and - at that moment in time - neither did he. Even if the welfare of Circle Daybreak relied on everyone keeping calm. He took a deep breath and sighed. She misunderstood his sigh for impatience, "well, I'm sorry for taking up your precious time!" through her tears she found the door and pushed through it.

He watched her go, feeling as though his heart was snapping inside his chest. He wanted to go after her, but didn't know how. He didn't have any experience with this; any experience of showing how much he cared.

He sat, feeling wetness trickle down his cheek, on the edge of the silk-covered bed. Looking around the room, he saw traces of _her _everywhere. The vanity desk which was covered with makeup, books and notepads, the pictures of her friends and family, even the odd one of their better times: a picnic on the beach in California, a picture of them on a small mission in Africa...the day when he proposed right there on top of the mansion…

Swiping violently at his eyes, he studied the pencils on the desk, wondered if it would have been better for him never to have been born. Of course it would have. Better for her, better for everyone.

"I'm sorry," the voice startled him, and he turned towards the doorway where a familiar figure was standing patiently. Her expression was soft, eyes downcast.

"You're leaving me, aren't you?" he asked, unable to control the sob in his voice and – for once – not really caring.

She stepped forward quickly, put thin arms around his chest, pulling him closer "Goddess no, I'm sorry that you think that. I'm so so sorry. I love you."

"Then why all this?" he asked miserably, willing his eyes to dry. She wasn't leaving him, and that was the good thing. He wasn't going to lose his fiancé, the thing that made his life worth living. He wasn't going to lose her ever again. He wouldn't let it happen.

"I don't know" she said, "you tell me!"

"It's the whole feeling of hopelessness." He said honestly "I'm vampire, you're human. You're going to die and I'll be on my own again. I can't lose you!"

"Or you could find someone else," she shuddered, "I don't like it. The thought makes me sick but…"

"Then be with me forever." He begged "don't let me lose you again. I can't live without you."

Her answer was short, but it filled him with such happiness that she may as well have said a thousand words "Ok."


	8. Chapter 8

Okay my first new one, with only 2 pairs left; you all know who this is, but I hope you like it anyway! (: I wrote it before university today in half an hour, but I hope it's at least somewhat grammatically correct.

He hadn't expected it to be like this.

In all his dreams, it was not like this. In his dreams the time when he saw her again would be beautiful; they would both be shy, both a little scared, but it would be wondrous anyway. They would go to one another, embrace under the stars, and everything would be perfect.

This wasn't like his dreams. Somehow, it was better.

He had driven there in one of the cars from the mansion. He felt like he had waited a thousand years for this one moment, and finally it was upon him. He had had mixed feelings when he'd left, excitement mixed with trepidation, but driving to her had proven to be the most horrible experience of his life. He had broken speed laws, driving over everything in his way to get back to her, and tried desperately to just _stop thinking._

The throbbing in his head had not dissipated the closer he got, but swelled drastically. He had gone through every bad scenario again and again in his head, and when he finally got there and stopped the car, he found that he was shaking so rigorously that the steering wheel was coming loose underneath his hands.

He pulled them back, looked at them as they continued to shudder before him. Finally, he folded them in his lap and waited for her.

The wait wasn't long, she was not known for her tardiness, but every second that went past seemed to last hours, reinforcing the bad images in her head, his brain screaming the mantra of his nightmares to him, _she's not coming, she's not coming, she's not coming!_

He could go to her, of course, but he wouldn't. This had to be her choice, and if she didn't come tonight he would leave her life forever; she deserved so much more.

When he did eventually see her, she was crossing the road towards his car, looking around her suspiciously, as though she was caught in a conspiracy. It was dark, and she perhaps could not see the car, hidden in clouds of blackness, but that only gave him a moment or two to collect himself, to force himself to be still.

She was beautiful – had she been that beautiful before? – her expression was worried, and she had her arms wrapped around herself as though trying to keep herself together – he knew that feeling well, but she was there, and the love in her eyes mirrored his own. Before he knew it, before he had even sent the instruction to his feet to move, he was out of the car, and he was running – actually running, full speed – to her.

She yelped when he picked her up, swung her, but she didn't kick him, and that was surely a good sign. The look of shock she had when he scooped her into his arms was replaced with a grin. She was happy to see him, and that thought was worth more than anything that he'd ever felt. He set her down on the floor softly, but he did not let her go, his chest heaved and it took him a moment to realise he was crying into her hair, holding her and crying, and yet he had no room for embarrassment.

When he pulled away, holding her in arms length to see her face, he saw that she was crying too, and he grasped her back into his arms again.

They stood there for near to an hour, two cars passed, one baring their horn, but neither of them really cared; he could feel her bones underneath his hold and realised that she hadn't been eating properly. He was never leaving her again.

When they did pull away, their hands found one another in the darkness and interlinked, and he was sure that he could see the glimmer of her smile, then they started walking. They did not talk about it, they knew where they would go when this moment passed.

Walking through the forest, helping his soul mate over any loose branches, he knew what he wanted to say, but he did not want to break the silence, and when they at once stopped at a clearing in the forest where the stars shone so beautifully, giving them an ethereal light, he finally stooped to kiss her.

She was so much more passionate than before, and whilst he was trying to be gentle, show all the love he felt for her in that one kiss, she had her arms around his neck, and her mouth was moving against his insistently, her tongue darting out as though pleading for entrance, and he gave it to her, kissing until their knees gave out and they sank to the floor.

Afterwards, he held her against his bare chest, both of them sleepy; her lips were playing against his chest, dropping soft kisses there. He didn't know where his t-shirt had gone throughout the night, but he decided he definitely did not care.

"I love you," he whispered, almost choking on emotion. His voice came out shaky.

She burrowed herself further into his chest and he was sure he felt her lips tug upwards into a smile, "I love you too, so much."

They lay in silence, and her breathing became heavy until he was sure she was asleep, he stroked her hair and was just starting to fall asleep himself when he heard her whisper.

"Don't ever leave me again."


End file.
